The Gaming Experience

We’ve Been 2 Years on the Internet!

Today March 5th, marks the second year anniversary of p4Ratchet. It’s an easy date to remember for me because it doubles as my brother’s birthday. The site has been a way to channel my interest in video games into something that can be shared with other people. There have been times where inspiration has been dry and others where it’s been booming. Thanks to this blog I’ve played a huge chunk of Nintendo’s classic library I never had before alongside several new and different titles and most importantly went on a trip of a lifetime to Japan to see the real life Pokémon world. We may be a small site here but I’m proud of every day it runs.

To celebrate this annniversary I thought I’d share some stats with everyone as a way to reminisce over two amazing years. So without further ado…

Best, Worst and Unique is my own interpretation of Top 10 lists, considering there’s always as much fun to be had talking about something we like as much as something we dislike. Plus sometimes a part of a game doesn’t quite fit in with the rest; its not necessarily the best or worst part of a game but deserves mention nonetheless. I’m glad Kingdom Hearts gathered so much interest, especially when talking about Final Fantasy characters alongside.

Incidentally, there are four posts that vie for the top spot here, with 4 likes each.

Starting off with one of my earlier pieces, this post on Mario Kart was part inspired by my recent graduation from University. A motivational piece for one facing the world outside of education as much as a reminder to persevere at Mario Kart even when its beating us to a pulp.

Secondly, one of my personal favourite write ups; the reboot of Tomb Raider did indeed flesh out Lara’s character into somebody more believable, but ultimately did she lose something of her striking identity along the way.

Thirdly whether the player gains or loses from using a walkthrough. This was written after I used a walkthrough to complete EarthBound Beginnings. Honestly it did spoil the game somewhat but then again I never would have finished it otherwise, in terms of gameplay it just wasn’t that great. But nevertheless I thought it made an interesting discussion and am very glad others thought the same!

Finally the F-Zero overview from the Smash Index feature rounds us off. Out of all the old Nintendo franchises it seems F-Zero might just be the most cherished of all of them. Or perhaps it is the readers of WordPress that really want to see it come back.

So as of yet there hasn’t been a reblog on WordPress, but this article did get quoted on another page, which I must thank DeadHomerSociety wholeheartedly. This post got quite a boost because of that and in those early stages of the blog, it was a very exciting moment for me.

Again my post on Walkthroughs appears as the most commented on post. I remember before I wrote this I’d never played a Final Fantasy without one. This was because I’d get really frustrated to learn I could have gained a certain character or summon earlier on in the game, and ended up starting again this time with a walkthrough. It seemed to me the sure fire way to never miss anything along the way. My advice, don’t play your games like that, it’s much less fun!

Most Viewed Day with 60 Views

30th August 2015

This was the day we left to start our very own Pokémon journey within the Kanto region in Central Japan. This blog helped this truly incredible trip to come to fruition and up to this point stands as my proudest achievement. Parts of this feature are still being viewed daily, 6 months on from catching our flight to Japan. I worry at times the concept wasn’t very clearly explained, but my ultimate hope of the feature was to inspire others to go out on their own adventures too. When this idea first came into my head, I dismissed it as a simple fantasy, but the proof is here on the web. We did it and I encourage anybody interested in this beautiful country, or any place they really want to go to for whatever reason, to do the same!

Finally I couldn’t sign this off without showing some love to my Tumblr followers. My most recent post, part of a new Final Fantasy feature has received a great amount of attention from Tumblr. Thank you so much to archlyte-awakening and lureofthesea for the reblogs. I’m glad you enjoyed the piece and hope your followers have done the same!

Thanks to all those who continue to read p4Ratchet. I shall endeavour to keep updating for another year to come! All the best.